National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has blamed ‘people with personal interest’ for the alleged rift between himself and Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, describing his successor as ‘my brother’.
Oshiomhole spoke when he received Obaseki, who led members of his cabinet to celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir festival with his former boss, at his Iyamoh residence in Estako West Local Government Government Area of Edo State.
Speaking to journalists after a closed-door meeting which lasted for about an hour, Oshiomhole said the meeting was not unusual as he was in constant touch with Obaseki.
According to Oshiomhole, “from time to time, we have always been meeting. It is not an unusual visit, the meeting afforded me the opportunity to meet with my brother and with people I have worked with.”
Oshiomhole described the seeming rift as the unfortunate creation of people with personal interest and the media, whom he said liked creating factions for their own gain.
On his part, Obaseki noted that the visit to his predecessor was not unusual, saying that he decided to celebrate Sallah with his former boss.
He said the visit was to celebrate Edo leaders just as the former APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, was celebrated by the state earlier in the day.
“There is nothing unusual about this meeting; today is Sallah and we have just finished celebrating with the former APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, in Benin City.
“And we decided to come here to celebrate Sallah with my predecessor,” the governor said.
He added that people who think there was a rift between him and his predecessor ‘should stop thinking like that’.
